After finishing the first eight weeks of the season, Minnesota will play at Wisconsin next Saturday during the Big Ten’s Champions week.

The border battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe was originally scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend, but was canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak within Minnesota’s program. The Gophers were off for 22 days before they beat Nebraska 24-17 Saturday.

The Big Ten originally planned on scheduling games between East and West division teams based on standings in the ninth week of the season. However, doing away with this plan and rescheduling the border battle extends the uninterrupted streak of this game to 130, the longest streak in college football.

Before playing Nebraska, head coach P.J. Fleck was asked about the possibility of facing the Badgers instead of an East opponent. At the time, Fleck did not know of the chances of this happening but said he is always excited to play the historic rival.

“The Minnesota and Wisconsin rivalry is one of the best in sports,” Fleck said in a statement. “This game means a tremendous amount to the student-athletes, coaches and fans of both schools. We are excited to play and extend this rivalry, as Saturday’s game will be the 130th meeting. In a year of constant change, we appreciate the Big Ten, both administrations and each conference member institution for preserving this rivalry.”